Astrology

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Parvati: "Professor Trelawney did astrology with us! Mars causes accidents and burns and things like that, and when it makes an angle to Saturn, like now, that means people need to be extra careful when handling hot things –"

Firenze: "That is human nonsense. Trivial hurts, tiny human accidents. These are of no more significance than the scurryings of ants to the wide universe, and are unaffected by planetary movements."

Contents

Traditions and practices

Humans

One human astrological practise was to draw a circular chart, called a personal chart, showing the position of the planets at the time of a person's birth.[2] Creating one was an intensive process, requiring the consultation of timetables, as well as the calculation of angles.[2] Once completed, this chart could be used in combination with data on upcoming planetary movements to work out a personal forecast,[2] called a horoscope.[3]

The Daily Prophet listed current zodiac aspects on its front page starting in 1994.[5] By 1995, it ran horoscopes on the back page,[6] as well as a feature on page six called Astro News, which was presumably dedicated to astrology.[7] The horoscope column was moved to an interior page by 1997, and by that time was being written by Limunus.[8]

The identity cards of Ministry of Magic employees listed their sun and moon signs rather than their dates of birth.[9]

Centaurs

Like humans, centaurs practised astrology, but their approach to it was different. While centaurs used astrology only to foresee major, world-changing events, humans also utilised it to predict mundane, day-to-day occurrences and better understand themselves.[2][10] Centaurs viewed these things as being far too trivial to be affected by the movement of the planets.[10]

According to Firenze, his species spent hundreds of years observing celestial movements, unlocking their secrets and thereby learning to see signs of "great tides of evil or change" to come written in the sky.[10] It could take up to a decade of watching for centaur astrologers to be confidant they knew what they were seeing.[10] Even then, Firenze stressed that one should never place too much trust in such things, as it was possible to misinterpret signs.[10]

Planetary influences

Mars — This planet caused burns, accidents, and things of a similar nature according to Parvati Patil.[10] In addition, Parvati claimed that when Mars and Saturn formed a right-angle, it indicated people needed to exercise extra caution when handling hot things.[10]Firenze stated that centaurs interpret Mars shining brightly in the sky as a harbinger of war.[10]

Saturn — This planet being in a prominent position at the time of a person's birth was said by Sybill Trelawney to have a "baleful influence," causing dark hair, short height, and tragic losses early in life.[2]

Pluto — This planet could disturb day-to-day life in a number of ways according to Trelawney.[11]

↑A prop issue of Metro featuring an article about the "miraculous" premature births of Jack and Tom appears in the Underground scene in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, just before Harry Potter's disciplinary hearing on 12 August, 1995. The body of the article says that "It would be twelve weeks in total before a fully recovered Tilly and I could bring our boys home for the first time." Twelve weeks is eighty-four days, and eighty-four days before 12 August is 20 May. The prop issue itself is dated 1 December, 2006, but this is inconsistent with the canonical timeline of the Harry Potter series.